International Chinese coal projects

Dawei power station
The Dawei power station is a 4,000-6,000 megawatt power station which has been proposed for Dawei, Burma, to be operated by the Thai company, Italian-Thai Development Plc. It has been reported that firms from China, Korea and Japan are also interested. The output from the power station is notionally slated for a major industrial estate that includes a steel mill and petrochemical facilities.

Kalewa power station
The Kalewa power station is a proposed 600 megawatt power station under construction by China Guodian Corporation and Tun Thwin Mining Co., Ltd. The power is proposed to be sold to the Monywa copper project which is operated by Chinese weapons manufacturer Norinco. The output from the Monywa mine will go to China, with a statement in 2009 on the Norinco website saying that the deal would “enhance the influence of our country in Myanmar [Burma]”. The article also noted that a similar agreement will also allow China’s Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Company, the largest steel manufacturer in the world, to mine the Sagaing division for nickel.

Tigyit power plant
The Tigyit power plant is the only operating coal-fired power station in Burma. A Pa’O Youth Organisation report states that "in September 2001 the regime’s Vice-Senior General Maung Aye arrived and chose the place for the power plant, instructing local military to confiscate over 100 acres of local farm lands. No compensation was provided. The CHMC of China and Eden Group of Myanmar built the plant under the supervision of the Energy Ministry. Construction began in September 2002 and was completed in April 2005."

Cambodia
In September 2010, Chinese company Erdos Electrical Power & Metallurgical Co. announced plans to build a 700-megawatt coal power plant in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk in Cambodia.

India
On June 29, 2011, Jotun India and Jotun China secured a contract for Reliance Power's Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project, a 6 x 660 MW plant in India. In China, 90,000 metric tons of turbine house steel structure will be coated with Jotun coatings, in addition to six sets of BTG (boiler, turbine and generators). In 2010, Jotun China Protective Management decided to set up a team to take care of international engineering companies and Chinese EPC companies active with cross border projects. With the help of Jotun's sister companies including Jotun Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Singapore and Philippines, U.A.E and Jotun Korea, a dozen cross border projects have been secured in the past years and supplied by Jotun China including: Australia Karara Mining project; Indonesia Tanjung Awar-Awar 2x350MW power plant project; Vietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer plant project; India Kamalaka 3x350MW power plant project; Philippines Mariveles 2x300 MW power plant project.

Mining
Between 2000 and 2007, Indonesian coal deliveries to China increased by 157%. In August 2010, China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC) announced that, in order to "secure more resources in Southeast Asia and benefit from increasing trade in the region" it would "plough" US$2 billion into coal, electricity and port projects in Indonesia. No time limit was given for fulfilling these objectives, but CIC said it was interested specifically in three Indonesian state firms: the coal mine company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam; the state electricity company, PLN; and port operator, Pelindo.

China Huadian
In October 2004 the Vice-President of China Huadian Corporation (CHD) met with a senior official from the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia seeking support for its plans for greater involvement in the Indonesia market. The following year CHD won a $US400 million contract for the construction of 2×300MW coal fired power plant project in West Java, Indonesia. The project was to supply power to PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali (PT PJB), a government-owned utility commonly referred to as PT PJB. The consortium selected to build the project was PT. Indika Inti Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indika Group.

In March 2005 there was a further high level meeting between CHD officials and the head of the state-run electricity company, PT PLN. The following month CHD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the governor of South Sumatra, Mr.Syahrial Oesman, for the development of a 4X600MW mine mouth power station in South Sumatra. A few months later the formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed with the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Chinese vice premier Zeng Peiyan at a business luncheon. Signing the agreement were Mr. He Gong, the president of China Huadian Corporation, Mr. Eddie Widiono, the president director of Indonesian state-run electricity company PT PLN, Mr. Ismet Harmaini, president of Indonesian state-run coal company PTBA and Mr. Hendrik Tee, president of Indika. "This project is to be developed by 55% majority holding of China Huadian corporation," a CHD media release stated. The project is the Banko Tengah power plant. However, an October 2010 JP Morgan research report referred to the project as having stalled. The plant was proposed to be built adjoining the Banko Tengah mine.

In September, 2010, China Huadian Corporation (CHD) announced that it had embarked on a "going abroad" path by launching the 180 MW Asahan No 1 hydropower plant in North Sumatra, Indonesia. CHD also established a branch in Indonesia in August 2010, which became the first foreign-funded company licensed to operate a power plant in Indonesia. CHD Power Plant Operation Co (PPOC) general manager Jin Yingjun said, "Through this project, we have developed a new model for running power stations overseas. We aim to build up our team through this project and then further press ahead overseas." The company also stated in a media release that PPOC had "signed plant operation deals with Indonesia and Malaysia worth $200 million last year" and falgged that it was "currently seeking to build a thermal plant in Vietnam."

CHD also stated that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had approved a plan of China Huadian Engineering Co, a CHD subsidiary, to build a 65 MW coal-fired power plant on Batam Island, Indonesia.

As of early 2011, the following projects were in various stages of development by China Huadian Engineering in Indonesia:
 * Lafarge, 33 MW coal-fired power plant, Aceh Besar, Sumatra - operating
 * Asahan, hydropower station, Sumatra - operating
 * Batam, hydropower station, Sumatra - under construction
 * Indorama, 60 MW coal-fired power plant, Java - construction completed

Malaysia
In 2009, China Huadian Company signed plant operations deals with Indonesia and Malaysia valued at $200 million.

May 2011: Protests against coal mining operations break out in Inner Mongolia
As of 2011, Inner Mongolia is China's top coal producer, accounting for about a quarter of all domestic supply — double what it was in 2005, and squeezing out the indigenous Mongolian community from their homelands.

Tensions increased after May 10, 2011, when a Han Chinese coal-truck driver ran over a 35-year-old Mongolian herder, known as Mergen, as Mergen tried to stop a convoy driving across fenced prairies in Xiwu. Allegations that the killing was deliberate inflamed passions in the indigenous Mongolian community, and protests erupted in at least three places.

Five days later, a forklift operator named Yan Wenlong was killed at a coal mine near Xilinhot after he and other locals clashed with company employees in a protest over pollution from the mine.

A peaceful gathering by Mongolian herders and students on May 23 at the banner capital in protest over the killing of Mergen reportedly led to violence and arrests as local authorities ended the demonstration by sending in police and "plain-clothes thugs." Two days later, about two thousand Mongolian herders, high school students and others mounted another demonstration and rally in Shilin Hot city.

Video clips posted online by overseas supporters show herders being arrested after the face-off with military police in Ujumchin the previous week. According to overseas groups, crowds also took to the streets in Huveet Shar on May 26 and Shuluun Huh on May 27 with banners declaring: "Defend the rights of Mongols" and "Defend the homeland". The biggest protest was in Xilinhot, where 1,000 students in yellow and blue uniforms marched through the broad streets to the government headquarters on May 26.

Locals called for a worldwide demonstration against China for May 29, to demand the rights of Mongolians and the release of detainees. In response, Chinese authorities declared martial law in major cities of the Mongolian region including Hohhot, Tongliao, Ulaanhad (Chifing in Chinese), and Dongsheng in the face of mass protests by students and herders. Tight Security was imposed as the authorities attempted to quash any protest and unrest.

Hundreds of Mongols marched later in the regional capital of Hohhot on May 31, 2011, the US-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center stated. Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center said a protest march also took place on May 30, 2011. AFP reported that the coal industry crackdown would include stepped-up checks on all existing and future projects and require all proposed mines to first submit environmental impact statements, the Inner Mongolia coal bureau's notice was quoted as saying.

China's Yanzhou buys Inner Mongolia Haosheng Coal Mining
In September 2010, China's fourth-largest coal miner Yanzhou Coal said it will pay $682 million in an effort to acquire 51% of Inner Mongolia Haosheng Coal Mining. Yanzhou said it is looking to bolster reserves as Chinese coal consumption continues to surge. Yanzhou will pay $682.1 million to two sellers for a 35.5 percent stake in the developer of the Shilawusu coal field, and seek to buy a further 15.5 percent through an open bidding process, according to Bloomberg News. Yanzhou's last major acquisition was the $3 billion purchase of Australia's Felix Resources.

China and UK fund coal gasification plant in Inner Mongolia
In Jun 2011, China Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection Group, a state-owned project developer, said it will build a $1.5 billion “clean coal” plant in Inner Mongolia with U.K.-based Seamwell International. The plant on the YiHe Coal Field will produce power by the end of 2014 or 2015, and will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity for about 25 years.

The plant will harvest its energy from gasified coal deep underground, the first commercial plant of its size, according to a statement from Seamwell. The project will drill to the seam of coal that is then ignited and injected with air, oxygen or steam to create synthetic gas. That will be pumped out and scrubbed before being used by a integrated gasification combined cycle power plant at the surface. There are 280 billion tons of coal resources in that region of Inner Mongolia, according to Seamwell.

The commercial plant will be fitted with carbon capture technology. The companies will first undertake a demonstration project at YiHe Field that Seamwell will finance after seeking funds globally. Once approvals are secured from the Chinese government, the companies said they will set up a joint venture in which Seamwell will own 49 percent and China’s energy conservation and protection group CECEP the rest.

Russia
In September 2010, it was announced that Russia had agreed to supply China with 475 million tonnes of coal over the next 25 years. In the deal, China will provide Russia with a $6 billion loan to finance the development of several coal projects into large-scale mines. The announcement followed a conference on energy cooperation in Blagoveshchensk, attended by Sergei Shmatko, Russia's energy minister, and Zhang Guobao, director of China's National Energy Administration. The Russian ministry stated: "Agreements have been reached on supplies of at least 15 million tonnes of [Russian] coal to China over the next five years and at least 20 million tonnes per year afterward. China's $6 billion loan will be secured by the Russian coal exports. The money will be used for everything from mine development and construction to the building and expansion of transportation infrastructure." Russia and China also agreed to conduct a preliminary feasibility study to set up another joint-venture for the development of a coal-to-liquids project in Russia.

South Africa
In November 2010, China's third-largest state-owned producer, Datong Coal Mine Group, said it is seeking coal mines in South Africa and other selected countries (Australia, Indonesia, and Russia), and plans to invest "tens of billions" in the new energy sector as part of its five-year development plan. President Wu Yongping of Datong ‒ the parent of the Shanghai-listed Datong Coal Industry Company Limited ‒ commented: “We are mainly looking at partnerships in these overseas ventures, but we won't rule out developing any mines on our own.”

Tanzania
In June 2011, China Energy and Mines minister William Ngeleja said the country will invest $400 million in Tanzania’s Kiwira coal mine project estimated to generate 200 megawatts of electricity. The money comes under a soft loan arrangement. Five groups, including Tanzania's National Social Security Fund, applied to run the project, before the government accepted China’s offer.

Plant in southern Vietnam's Binh Thuan province
In September 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, approved a plan by a consortium led by China Southern Power Grid Corp. to build a coal-fired power plant in southern Vietnam's Binh Thuan province. The plant will have two generators, each with an annual power generating capacity of 600,000 kilowatts. The first generator is expected to come online in 2014. The $1.75 billion project will be China's largest investment in Vietnam and Chinese banks will provide funding.

Vinh Tan power station
The Vinh Tan power station - a USGS report states that "in 2007, the Vietnamese Government authorized China Southern Grid (a Chinese electricity company) to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed 1,200-megawatt (MW) thermoelectric plant in Binh Thuan Province in Vietnam. Construction of the $1 billion coal-fired powerplant was expected to begin by the end of 2007."

Kien Luong 1 Thermal Power Plant
According to a September 2010 article in China Daily, the company "is currently seeking to build a thermal plant in Vietnam and they are conducting the negotiation with the relevant foreign parties." The plant is the 1200MW Phase 1 of the Kien Luong 1 Thermal Power Plant proposed by the Tan Tao Energy Corporation (TEC) of the Tan Tao Group. The Saigon Times reports that the project is the first "BOO (build, own, operate) project in Vietnam, with total investment capital of about US$2 billion." The proposed total plant has been mooted as 4,400-5,200 MW.

Zambia
The Collum Coal Mine is owned by China in the southern town of Sinazongwe in Zambia. Twelve workers were injured on October 15, 2010, when mainly Chinese managers fired randomly at workers protesting poor working conditions. Investment from China has been on the rise Zambia, with several copper and coal mines bought by Chinese firms.

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 * Global use and production of coal
 * Australia and coal
 * Britain and coal
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 * Indonesia and coal
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 * New Zealand and coal
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 * South Africa and coal
 * United States and coal